Religious skepticism is a type of skepticism regarding religion, that is, it is to doubt those beliefs or religious manifestations. Religious skepticism should never be confused with atheism since the latter, in a general sense, is the non-belief in deities or any type of supernatural beings, or on the other hand, in a more strict way, it is the position that the non-existence of deities takes.
The skeptical are those who dispute or question authority or different religious phenomena; they completely doubt the veracity or effectiveness of some or many of the different existing religious practices. According to history, religious skepticism has its origins in the time of the classical Athenian philosopher Socrates, who doubted many religious claims at that time.
The religious skepticism today generally refers more testing or scientific methods and stories. According to the writer, presenter and historian specialized in scientific issues, founder of the " Skeptics Society " or " Skeptics Society ", Michael Brant Shermer stated in a writing that it is a process to discover the truth instead of blanket non-acceptance. Therefore a religious skeptic cannot believe that Jesus existed or if so this man was not the so-called Messiah, nor could he perform miracles.
The religious skepticism is not the same as agnosticism or atheism, although it should be noted that on several occasions they involve skeptical attitudes toward religion and philosophical theology. Many religious people are almost always skeptical about the manifestations of other religions unrelated to their own, or at least when the two conflict over a particular belief.
